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Our final day on the Garden Route was spent travelling the three hours to Port Elizabeth. We were somehow bumped into business class for the flight to Joberg which was very exciting. Arriving in Joberg we followed the confusing directions to our casino hotel complex (Emperor's Palace) for the overnight stay. Since we were staying at the cheap hotel in the complex it was a complete rabbit warren to get to the restaurants and Gareth was wishing he had an orienteering map and Gemma made sure not to leave Gareth. Dinner was held under a fake sky next to a larger than life 'David' by Michelangelo and to add to the experience we had South Africa's most awkward waiter who stared at us for twenty minutes at the end of the meal. We considered following David's example of waving money in the air to grab his attention.
The next leg of our journey involved the smallest plane of our trip, a Jetstream 41. Gareth was glad he had done yoga recently as he threw himself with a bag into the smallest airplane seat he has ever been in. Gemma then followed and got the giggles. These chairs were commented on by all the rough Australian miners who were also on the flight heading to work in a magnesium mine. It wasn't until halfway through the flight that we realised we could move the armrest which gave us 'lots' of room.
Escaping the plane at Phalaborwa, the airport was safari themed complete with fake snakes. We were met by our driver who drove us to Makalali Lodge. Makalali Lodge exceeded all expectations with our own private villa. The villa had some incredible features including the largest bed we have ever slept in, a balcony overlooking a riverbed where we saw lots of animals and the most unique open air shower.
Our days a the lodge were split between game drives, lounging around the pools, scaring monkeys and baboons off our balcony and playing naked roulette with our outdoor shower as guests, staff and helicopters would go past. Much to Gemma's dismay she was the loser in this game and had to resort to moonlit showers. The staff were incredible and on our last evening they set up a romantic dinner, lit by lanterns, on the verandah of our villa. An added bonus to this lovely gesture was the fact that we could avoid small talk with four German-speaking couples.
Each morning at 5:30AM we received a wake-up call in preparation for our game drive. Our driver Rams and his tracking friend Musa and their trusty open-topped Land Cruiser would then show us an amazing array of African wildlife.
Some of the highlights include:
1. Driving past a termite mound near the end of an afternoon game drive and seeing the blue eyes of a female leopard two metres from the road. Even our guides were super excited since they couldn't guarantee the fifth of the big five.
2. Multiple sighting of lions including one male posing as for a National Geographic photo shoot and five lion cubs playing with each other and their mothers.
3. Seeing black and white rhinos including babies due to the great skill of our guides and the bulldozing quality of the Land Cruiser.
4. Scores of elephants including one experience where an elephant was two metres from Gemma. Another elephant highlight was seeing baby elephants developing their trunk skills.
5. And the rest including giraffes, zebras, water buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, various birds and a smorgasbord of African antelopes.
After our final game drive we returned to Phalaborwa Airport and prepared ourselves for the sardine experience. We stayed at the end of the line but upon entering the aircraft was greeted warmer air than the outside African temperature of 35 degrees. This European aircraft was obviously not prepared for the African heat and with limited air-conditioning, and sun streaming in through the windows on our side we sweltered our way to Joberg. We have never seen so many people requesting ice and as we were grumbling we heard from the flight attendant that the back of the plane was even worse than our stifling temperatures. Thankfully the flight was only an hour long and Joberg's airport air-conditioning began the slow process of revival.
Gareth was devastated to find out that in the transit his trusty Kathmandu bag lost one of its wheels. The bag has been with him since 2009 and its loss will be mourned. On our last visit to Joberg we had organised a massage for the afternoon. Beginning in a Roman bath we regained our sanity and were then treated to an incredibly relaxing massage. It was a very nice way to spend our time transiting through Joberg. We are sad to be leaving South Africa since we have really enjoyed the variety of experiences we have been able to share.
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Althea Halliday What a truly excellent blog is this! And fancy seeing the 'big five' up so close! I was so heartened to hear that there were so many animals in the park: galores of elephants and antelopes and so on. I was also incredulous at that shot of the leopard. Unbelievable clarity! And the eyes! Dear me! We thought that Muffin meant business. He wasn't a patch on the fixed intent of this magnificent animal. And wasn't your accommodation wonderful! What an entirely unforgettable adventure. (We have been to Melbourne and back, and now we're in Toowoomba. Always going at the speed of sound.)